TON Foundation targets US expansion under Trump

Key Takeaways

TON Foundation has appointed Manuel Stotz as president as part of its US expansion plans.
The foundation aims to leverage anticipated pro-crypto policies under Donald Trump.

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TON Foundation has appointed Manuel Stotz as its new president as the blockchain platform sets its sights on the US market ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated return to the White House, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The founder of Kingsway Capital Partners succeeds Steve Yun, who will remain on the board, the report notes.

The foundation, known as a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing and supporting projects within the TON ecosystem, is optimistic that the economic powerhouse “will soon become a global crypto hub keenly focused on innovation,” said Stotz.

The blockchain associated with Telegram is getting ready for growth, thanks to Trump’s expected pro-crypto policies, which include plans for a national Bitcoin stockpile and a push to strengthen US leadership in digital assets.

It’s clear that not just TON but the entire crypto industry are paying attention to what will come after Trump’s inauguration. The leadership transition is expected to provide relief to the industry that has long faced regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions that intensified under the Biden administration, particularly after major exchanges such as FTX collapsed.

Washington Post reported Monday that the Trump administration plans to issue executive orders on the first day to support the crypto industry and advance blockchain technology in the US. These policies, orchestrated with contributions from tech leader Marc Andreessen and AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, aim to revise accounting standards for digital assets and create a supportive legal environment for crypto companies.

TON was initially conceived as the Telegram Open Network to facilitate fast and secure transactions within the Telegram ecosystem. The project aimed to integrate crypto functionalities into the messaging platform. Due to regulatory hurdles, Telegram abandoned its initial crypto project, Gram, in 2020. Following this setback, the development of TON transitioned to an open-source community model.

The TON Foundation was established in Switzerland in 2023. It operates without a single controlling authority, allowing for community contributions and decentralized governance.

Months after his arrest in France, Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov appeared in a Paris court last month for his first official questioning in a criminal investigation into alleged illegal activity on the platform.

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